Share via

It was hardly the welcome from the City that Mark Papworth would have wanted
when, in October, he was parachuted in to become chief executive of
Chemring. Shares in the maker of the defence equipment plunged by 7 per
cent, although, to be fair, it was not his fault. At the time, the company
was being stalked by Carlyle, the American private equity group.

The City, rightly as it turned out, interpreted his appointment as a sign that
the takeover was not going to happen. Mr Papworth faces the unenviable task
of turning